(De)clawed
by PerfectBlondie
Summary: On the Big Island of Hawaii, three clans thrive in their own niches on the island. Conflict is minimal until one clan's greed leads to war. Foxy Lady, a maimed kittypet from the mainland, escapes her housefolk and enters a world that may be physically too much for her.
1. Allegiances and Prologue: A Stormy Night

MistClan

LEADER: Stagstar – Light tan tom with green eyes, a white underbelly, tail tip, muzzle, and paws with a scar on his neck and a shredded ear.

DEPUTY: Gingertail – Pretty dark ginger she-cat with faint tabby markings, long whiskers, long fur, and yellow eyes.

MEDICINE CAT: Tatteredfeather – Long-furred brown tom with darker tabby markings, long whiskers, two white hind paws, and scars on his shoulders, face, and ears.

WARRIORS:

Rainpelt – Light gray tom with spotted tabby patterning, a darker back, a white chin, a nicked ear, and amber eyes.

Dapplefur – Dark brown she-cat with dark spotted tabby markings, yellow eyes, and white paws

Muddyfoot – Brown tom with amber eyes, a scar on his shoulder, and a lighter brown muzzle and paws and a notched ear

 _Apprentice: Moonpaw – Long furred gray she-cat with long whiskers, blue eyes, white paws, a white muzzle, and a lighter gray tail._

Gooseflight – Light brown tom with darker brown tabby markings, a shredded ear, a notched ear, a scar on his hip, and yellow eyes.

 _Apprentice: Palmpaw – Black she-cat with short whiskers, yellow eyes, a white band in the middle of her tail, a white muzzle, white paws, and a white chest and underbelly_

Batfang – Black tom with white paws, a white chin, and white dots above his yellow eyes

Sugarpelt – Long-furred pale cream she-cat with yellow eyes and white tail tip, muzzle, and paws

 _Apprentice: Nightpaw – Dark gray tom with spotted dark tabby markings and yellow eyes_

Brightleaf – Ginger tabby she-cat with a white chest, underbelly, and paws, long whiskers, and yellow eyes

Papayawhisker – Golden tabby she-cat with green eyes and a white tipped tail

 _Apprentice: Roachpaw – Gray tabby tom with white tipped ears, a white chest, and a white underbelly and amber eyes with a nicked ear_

Albatrossheart – Handsome white tom with yellow eyes, a nicked ear, a large black marking on his forehead, and a black tail

Talljump – Long-legged tom with long fur, long whiskers, blue eyes, a thick black stripe on his back, a black tail tip, black muzzle, and black paws

QUEENS:

Mossear – Gray she-cat with green eyes, is missing an ear, has a scarred muzzle, a white chin, white belly, white chest, and partially white tail

 _(Kits: Tidalkit, Fogkit, Ashkit)_

Runningstream – Pretty silver she-cat with blue eyes, long whiskers, light gray spotted tabby markings, white paws, white ear-tips, a white muzzle, and white paws

 _(Kits: Frondkit, Pepperkit)_

ELDERS:

Mothflutter – Orange she-cat with amber eyes, a darker orange striped on her back, tail-tip, chest, belly, and muzzle

Prickletooth – Brown tom with green eyes, a darker face, tail-tip, and belly

Dewynose – Long-furred blue-gray tom with long whiskers, amber eyes, a notched ear, and a claw mark on his face

ReefClan

LEADER: Tinystar – Gray tom with a darker flank, a stumpy tail, white muzzle, white paws, and green eyes

DEPUTY: Dolphintooth – Handsome blue-gray tom with long fur, long whiskers, blue eyes, a white muzzle, white chest, white tail tip, and white paws

MEDICINE CAT: Stripedtail – Dark gray tom with a banded tail and amber eyes

 _Apprentice: Sealpaw – Light gray she-cat with a white neck, white chest, a white marking on her back near her neck, white paws, and blue eyes_

WARRIORS:

Canestalk – Black tom with amber eyes, one white paw, a white chest, and a white mark on the bridge of his nose

 _Apprentice: Coconutpaw – Very light brown she-cat with long fur, long whiskers, a plumy tail, blue eyes, and white face, neck, chest, underbelly, tail, and paws_

Turtlefur – Splotchy calico she-cat with green eyes

 _Apprentice: Coralpaw – Peachy-orange furred she-cat with orange tabby markings, green eyes, and white paws_

Seasong – Gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Eelfang – Smoky gray tom with amber eyes, a lighter muzzle and chest, and a shredded ear

 _Apprentice: Sleekpaw – Slender light gray tabby tom with yellow eyes_

Sandypelt – Tan tom with green eyes, a white chest, and a single white paw

Geckostripe – Dark ginger she-cat with a white chin, amber eyes, and striped tabby markings

Risingsun – golden tabby she-cat with a white tail tip, amber eyes, and a notched ear

 _Apprentice: Sharkpaw – Black tom with gray tabby markings and amber eyes_

Hibiscusnose – Solid russet she-cat with yellow eyes and long whiskers

 _Apprentice: Wavepaw – Light gray tom with blue eyes and white-tipped ears_

Longshadow – Mottled tortoiseshell she-cat with white paws, a white chest, and amber eyes

Darkwhisker – Dark gray tom with yellow eyes and a white chest

Coldpool – Black tom with gray ears and green eyes

QUEENS:

Mangofern – Golden tabby she-cat with green eyes and a white chest and underbelly

 _(Kits: Morningkit, Pearlkit, Pufferkit)_

ELDERS:

Parrotmuzzle – Red tom with short whiskers, green eyes, and a white muzzle

Silkypelt – Long-furred black she-cat with yellow eyes

PlumeClan

LEADER: Sharpstar – Slender brown tom with darker brown markings and yellow eyes with a heavily scarred front leg, shoulder, and neck.

DEPUTY: Gullwing – Fluffy white she-cat with a black muzzle, ears, chest, tail tip, and paws and green eyes and long whiskers

MEDICINE CAT: Goldenpelt – Small golden tabby she-cat with a white tipped tail and yellow eyes

WARRIORS:

Snowfoot – Big white tom with a gray muzzle, neck, and paws and yellow eyes

 _Apprentice: Stormpaw – Dark gray tom with yellow eyes and a darker flank_

Gingerleaf – Silver tabby she-cat with green eyes and a nicked ear

Duskfur – Long-furred dark gray she-cat with green eyes, long whiskers, and a white chin

 _Apprentice: Icepaw – Pretty silver and white dappled she-cat with blue eyes_

Orchidtail – Pretty long-furred silver she-cat with long whiskers, blue eyes, a white muzzle and a white-banded tail

Lavastep – Flame colored tom with darker ginger coloring on his ears, muzzle, tail, and paws and amber eyes

 _Apprentice: Thornpaw – Solid dark brown tom with yellow eyes_

Lightmask – Black tom with amber eyes and a white face and a white dash on the back of his head

Driftclaw – Black tom with a white stripe on his head, white eye-dots, white paws, a white muzzle, long whiskers, and green eyes

Russetbloom – Ginger she-cat with yellow eyes, white-tipped ears, a white chin, and a white chest

 _Apprentice: Boarpaw – Huge, long-furred dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes_

Scorchpelt – Orange and black tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

 _Apprentice: Mongoosepaw – Light brown, heavily striped and spotted tom with brown/gray coloring on his ears, paws, muzzle, and stripes and spots_

Lizardtail – Blue-gray tabby tom with blue eyes and a nicked ear and an entirely dark gray tail

 _Apprentice: Vinepaw – Gray tabby tom with green eyes_

Drizzlefur – Dark gray tom with black spotted markings and amber eyes

QUEENS:

Guavabreeze – Long-furred white she-cat with long whiskers and green eyes

 _(Kits: Nectarkit, Milkkit, Firekit, and Emberkit)_

Pinedusk – Dark brown she-cat with a white face, tail, paws, and underbelly and amber eyes

ELDERS:

Blueheart – Blue gray tom with blind blue eyes

Smokefur – Gray tom with one white paw and green eyes

Littlefern – Small light brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Prologue: A Stormy Night

A storm raged, hiding the milky moonlight from view and casting the palm trees as monstrous claws terrorizing the beach. A white tom with a black tail thundered across the sand, the sinking feeling that accompanied each paw-step foreign and draining. He fought back a screech of fright at the loud, aggressive waves that crashed against the shore, but couldn't resist raising his hackles at the unfamiliar stimulus. A pale, creamy-furred she-cat was just behind him.

"Where are they, Albatrossheart?" She asked, her typically beautiful fur clinging pitifully to her lithe body.

Albatrossheart tried to scent for the ReefClan cats, but the reek of salt water clouded his senses. The cream colored she-cat was about to snarl at the tom, but a young, springy cat raced up to her, clumsy on his paws in the sand. "Sugarpelt, Sugarpelt!" He yowled, "Dapplefur found them! They're hiding in the rocks, come on!"

Wasting no time, Sugarpelt bolted in the direction the young tom told her, Albatrossheart following closely. The white tom let rage propel him to the enemy; he refused to sit back while ReefClan, who had the whole ocean to hunt in, continue to lay claim to dry land his clan could be using. The water-dwelling cats would pay for their greed by blood if necessary.

Before Albatrossheart could reach the rocks that harbored the enemy, a russet blur flew into his side, knocking him to the ground. Sand clung to his damp fur and stray volcanic rock tore into his pelt, but the tom valiantly rolled back to his paws as the cat came at him again, claws out in search of his face. Albatrossheart ducked the blow and snarled, "Hibiscusnose!"

The russet she-cat hissed back at the invader, "You need to leave! This is ReefClan territory, retreat to your highlands before some cat gets hurt!"

Albatrossheart bared his white fangs at Hibiscusnose, a flash of lightning in the distance giving them an ominous sheen. "Not until you give up your dry lands!" He snarled, lunging at the enemy she-cat.

She met his attack with ferocity, rearing up on her hind legs and swatting harshly at his muzzle with unsheathed claws. Albatrossheart yowled in pain as crimson spilled from three gashes on his face and clamped his jaws on her ear in retaliation, yanking it upwards in malice. Hibiscusnose screeched and jerked free of his hold, shredding her ear in the process and snapping her jaws at the white and black tom, "Out! Get out of here, greedy roach-face!"

Albatrossheart hissed and prepared to make her pay for the insult, but a familiar golden tabby barreled into Hibiscusnose, eliciting a meow of surprise as she fell, the wind knocked out of her. The golden cat looked to Albatrossheart, "Go, I've got her!"

He gave her a grateful nod and dashed off towards the rest of the fray, scanning the area for a new cat to fight. Albatrossheart ran closer to the intimidating waves frothing at the rocks where ReefClan clashed with his clanmates. He caught eye of his leader, Stagstar, locked in battle with ReefClan's leader, Tinystar, both toms looking equally matched as they fought before the raging tide.

Thunder clapped as Albatrossheart made his way closer to the raging sea. He nearly bit one of his clanmates, Talljump, when he came to run alongside him. The dark tom didn't seem to notice though. He glanced at Albatrossheart briefly as he raced towards the rocks. "I saw Nightpaw go towards the rocks!" Talljump panted, "He's not experienced enough for this, I don't care what Stagstar thinks, we need to get him away from there!"

Albatrossheart's whiskers twitched and he increased his pace at Talljump's words. Nightpaw was young, only apprenticed for a moon, Talljump was right in wanting to get him away from the ocean.

An enemy cat launched itself at Talljump, spitting angrily and sinking its fangs into his shoulders. Albatrossheart forced himself onward, leaving Talljump on his own; he could handle himself, Nightpaw was the bigger concern. When he reached the rocks overlooking the sea, Albatrossheart searched for the dark-furred apprentice amidst the chaos, eventually spotting him wrestling with a peach-colored she-cat precariously near the edge. Neither of the two seemed to notice how close to the furious waves they were, too focused on fighting each other with admiral ferociousness that would make their mentors proud.

Waves slammed against the rocks near the apprentices, its spittle flying onto their coats to accompany the hard, hail-like rain that pelted them. Each time a wave hit, Albatrossheart felt nearly unbearable levels of dread build higher and higher in his stomach. Looking around, his clanmates were losing. Stagstar hadn't brought enough warriors to attack the ReefClan camp and the unexpected storm made things even harder on his clanmates, who were used to being sheltered in the lush highlands far from the coast from such things. He kept his ears strained for the inevitable yowl for his clan to retreat over the roaring storm and crashing waves and screeching cats.

Albatrossheart was on the verge of reaching Nightpaw and the ReefClan apprentice, his determination to pull the young tom away from the rocky cliffs making him faster and more agile than usual, when an enormous wave leapt clear over the cliffs and swallowed the apprentices whole. Albatrossheart skidded to a stop, his eyes wide with horror when he realized Nightpaw was no longer on the cliff side fighting alongside his clanmates.

"Nightpaw!" He gasped, ignoring the risk of another rogue wave sweeping him into the sea and running to the edge of the cliff.

The white tom stared down the side of the cliff and saw the peach-colored ReefClan cat resurface from beneath the waves, eyes wide as she spluttered and fought to stay above water. Nightpaw, however, was nowhere in sight. He was gone.

Albatrossheart's ears flattened in disbelief. Sugarpelt's apprentice, Rainpelt's son, Moonpaw and Roachpaw's brother, was gone, taken by the ocean never to be seen again. He was in shock, desperately staring at the water in the hopes that maybe the spotted gray apprentice would pop his head out from the waves like the she-cat had and somehow flounder his way to safety. But he didn't. He wouldn't.

"MistClan, retreat!" Stagstar's expected yowl sliced through the air, carrying past the viscous storm to the ears of his ailing clanmates.

He didn't want to leave, it felt wrong, dishonorable even to follow Stagstar's orders and leave Nightpaw behind. Albatrossheart knew there was no way Nightpaw survived, but it still hurt when he darted away from the coast in the direction of his highland home.


	2. Chapter 1: Betrayal

Chapter 1: Betrayal

It was hot. Foxy Lady had never felt heat like this before. The ground, a smooth but burning black path, singed her soft, pink paw pads and the sky, unobstructed by anything, fried her silky black fur. Her mouth was parted ever so slightly, at times revealing her tongue as she panted and she moved with her head low to the ground in exhaustion. She began to wonder if this had been a mistake, if she should try to retrace her steps and go back to the housefolk who'd betrayed her. Foxy Lady shook her head roughly at the thought. No, never would she return. Because of her once beloved housefolk, she was forever maimed and in a whole new world that was nothing like the chilly city she'd spent her kit-hood in.

Foxy Lady thought back to her kit-hood home, which sat high in the sky overlooking busy roads and other buildings, some tall and skinny and others short and fat. She had a nice balcony with a glass table to sit and watch the smoggy world go by until she either got bored or cold. Then there was a nice, snug wicker basket with a fleece blanket inside where she'd snuggle up and sleep the rest of the day away.

Here, there was no balcony and her housefolk didn't put her basket out for her anymore. The air was hot and thick as opposed to the thin, cold air she'd grown up with and the sun blazed fiercely. There were cars and roads here, but they weren't busy like the city roads Foxy Lady would watch. The cars here were a lot quicker, too and Foxy Lady thought they were bigger, but that may have been because she'd never been that close to the roads before. Sounds in this new place were different as well. Birds she'd never heard before sang strange, loud songs and warbles that had her ears constantly moving and she could hear water somewhere nearly anywhere she went. Any time she scented the air, she was met with the smell of dirt and salt that left her pining for the more familiar scent of car exhaust.

As Foxy Lady traveled along the hot pavement, the wound on her belly and toes stung and she fought the temptation to stop and lick them to sooth the stinging. They were days old now, but they still hurt, especially the toes. Foxy Lady had never felt more pain in the days after her housefolk took her to the cutter to have her feet and stomach ruined in this strange new hot place. Though her wounds had begun to stitch themselves back together a while ago, they were presently at an awkward stage in the healing where they stung and itched whether she moved or rested. Had she not been deserting her housefolk, she may have stopped to pick at them some more.

Foxy Lady glanced around. The rocks around the pavement were black and jagged, sharp looking and uninviting. They made it difficult to avoid the cars that passed her on the road, but the city cat managed.

The black she-cat nearly cried out in relief when she saw trees in the distance and broke into a gallop, uncaring of the pain erupting in her paws. The pain would be well worth a reprieve from the scorching heat of the unobstructed sun. She ran along the road as far as she could, then carefully walked across the burning hot, sharp rocks that blanketed the ground from the road to the trees. Foxy Lady hissed every few paw steps, as despite her caution, the rocks sliced through her paw pads like glass, leaving crimson stains with each step. She ignored the new cuts the best she could, desperate to reach the shade.

When she got off the sharp, hot, black rocks and under the shade of the trees, Foxy Lady purred in relief, flopping over beneath the nearest tree. She closed her eyes and rested for a little, then went to work on her bleeding paws, wincing as she cleaned them. Her kit-hood home in the city never had such terrible things and it left her pining for her old home once more.

Her ears twitched each time a car whirled past on the nearby road, but otherwise focused on the foreign but soothing sound of the water close by. She was parched, once her paws felt better Foxy Lady decided she would go find the water for a drink. Until then, she decided she'd stay put.

Soon, Foxy Lady managed to drift off to sleep with the rumble of cars in her ears and the smell of salt in her nose.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

She was disoriented when she awoke. It was still bright out and Foxy Lady didn't feel that the weather had cooled down either. The stinging of Foxy Lady's paws earned her attention and she swiped her pink tongue gently over the fresh wounds. She shifted uncomfortably on the ground, feeling something sticking into her pelt, glancing over her fur. Long, sharp thorns stuck out from her black pelt. Foxy Lady let out a meow of surprise, abandoning her paws to attempt to pull the wicked thorns from her fur. She hadn't seen or felt anything like them since she got pricked by her housefolk's sewing equipment as a kit.

Once the thorns were removed, Foxy Lady looked around where she rested to find lots more of those long, sharp thorns lying around. Some were alone, but most were attached to fallen branches from the trees she took refuge beneath. She took a better look at the trees around her. They were fairly large with long twisting branches bare of leaves. The only hints of green were at the top of them, but they blocked out the sun effectively. Ants scuttled across the dirt around Foxy Lady, prompting her to get up. In the city, ants would get into her housefolks' nest and Foxy Lady would bat at them with her paws, so seeing them now was a little bit comforting.

Foxy Lady held her tail a little above the ground to avoid any of the thorny branches from tangling in it as she watched the ants, enthralled and nostalgic. Like in the city, these ants were small and black, hardly paying any attention to the lost black cat as they moved about.

Engrossed in watching the ants, Foxy Lady didn't notice the young light gray and white cat who smelled of the sea padding towards her. The cat wove towards Foxy Lady, skillfully avoiding the plentiful thorny branches scattered about until she was just a tail's length away from Foxy Lady. The cat watched Foxy Lady with caution, puzzled that the black cat hadn't noticed her yet. Her whiskers twitched nervously and meowed at Foxy Lady, "Hello? Who are you, are you lost?"

Foxy Lady jumped in surprise, her green eyes widening like full moons and her fur bristling. Her body tensed, she hadn't been in contact with other cats since she lived with her mother and siblings back in the city and wasn't sure what to do. While waiting for a reply, the gray and white cat looked Foxy Lady over, fixing her gaze lightly on her marred paws. Foxy Lady, still stunned by the sight of another cat, meowed nervously. The stranger's gaze softened and looked kindly at Foxy Lady. "Your paws don't look so good, I can help with that if you'd like."

Foxy Lady licked her muzzle nervously, unable to find her voice, and gave a shallow dip of her head, hoping the stranger would get the message and help her. To her relief, the stranger seemed to understand, her tail raising and curling in a friendly manner and a light, reassuring purr rumbling from its throat. "My name's Sealpaw," The stranger told her, slowly approaching Foxy Lady as though anticipating violence from the black she-cat, "I'm Stripedtail's apprentice, so I'm used to treating shredded paws like yours."

She stayed silent, still stiff as Sealpaw dipped her head to sniff at her torn up paws. She glanced up at Foxy Lady, her facial features soft without a trace of the tension that held Foxy Lady hostage. "You're not a clan cat, are you? You don't smell like one," Sealpaw noted, gently nosing one of Foxy Lady's front paws to see the extent of the damage.

As she examined Foxy Lady, she spoke. "My family and I are all ReefClan cats. I'm training to be a medicine cat, my brother Sharkpaw is training to be a warrior, and my parents are both warriors. You know, you might have to come back to camp with me. These are pretty deep, and the kiawe trees aren't going to cut it for fixing these. It's kind of hard to come by over on the beach here, but I bet guava juice would fix that right up! Maybe some kukui sap and aloe flesh too. I know you're not a ReefClanner, but Stripedtail's a kind cat and I'm sure he'll let you use it, at least a little… I don't know though," Sealpaw said, seemingly deep in thought, "Normally the clans around here don't fight, but lately MistClan has been coming all the way from the highlands and attacking us for no reason so Stripedtail might not be able to spare that guava… but we have plenty of kukui nuts and sap so that should help speed things up a little at least!"

Foxy Lady still didn't speak, wary of the strange cat and the things she was saying, but Sealpaw didn't seem discouraged. "Do you think you can walk? I'd offer to leave and get the supplies, but you're on ReefClan territory and with MistClan's recent behavior, I wouldn't put it past my clanmates to attack you. Everyone's really on edge, and normally I would too, but I have a good feeling about you. You're not a malicious cat."

"I… I'll try." Foxy Lady finally meowed, her response making Sealpaw's blue eyes light up.

She raised her tail in excitement, "Oh good! I'm glad you're talking now, too. I was worried that I'd scared you beyond words! What's your name?"

"I'm Foxy Lady." She said, lowering her head in embarrassment when Sealpaw purred in amusement.

"Wow! I'm sorry, I swear I'm not trying to be mean!" Sealpaw purred, "It's just I've met plenty of clanless cats and none of them have had a name quite like yours!"

Foxy Lady flattened her ears and muttered, "Your name is weird too."

Sealpaw's eyes still glimmered with amusement, but Foxy Lady could tell she hit a nerve with her muttering by the way her thick, plumy tail lashed sharply behind her. But to Foxy Lady, Sealpaw did have a bizarre name! Foxy Lady only vaguely remembered her brothers, but recalled them being called Elvis and Metallica, not something like Sealpaw or Sharkpaw.

"Well what does your name mean?" Sealpaw asked, her tone more clipped than before.

Foxy Lady lowered her gaze and answered quietly. "I don't know, my housefolk named me."

Sealpaw looked smug, puffing her chest out and raising her head high. "I was named after the seals that come up on the beach every so often. They're good omens, you know. I'm honored to have my name, it doesn't sound like your name brings you any honor. I would never bow my head in shame if my name was mocked like that!"

Intimidated by the fluffy gray and white cat, Foxy Lady felt herself lower back to the ground, unable to meet Sealpaw's gaze. She heard Sealpaw sigh and crouch down herself so she was eye-level with her. "Sorry, I know that was cruel of me. You're already in pain and clearly lost, I shouldn't have said all that." Sealpaw apologized. "If you can stand up again, I'll guide you to camp and Stripedtail and I can help you."

Foxy Lady nearly said no, but decided she wasn't in any position to be denying help. Sealpaw was odd but had a friendly way about her that eased Foxy Lady's nerves somewhat and encouraged her trust. She gave a subtle nod of her head and rose back to her paws, wincing as she pressed her cut up paws into the dirt. Sealpaw gave a purr of encouragement, seeming relieved that Foxy Lady was accepting her help.

"Be careful of the thorn-branches, they're everywherehere! Once you spend more time around here though it gets easier to avoid them though, so don't worry. Just watch where I put my paws, alright?" Sealpaw said, eager to bring the newcomer to camp.

"Okay," Foxy Lady murmured, training her eyes on Sealpaw's paws with such an intensity that Sealpaw purred in amusement.

She flicked her tail in a friendly gesture, but doubted Foxy Lady noticed. Sealpaw began to move towards camp, careful to move slowly for Foxy Lady's sake. The black she-cat seemed to appreciate the leisurely pace, agonizingly pressing each injured paw directly where Sealpaw had previously stepped in a feeble attempt to keep things from getting worse.

"How far away is this place?" Foxy Lady asked, unsure of how much farther she could stand to walk. Despite her nap, she was still exhausted and the pain from her cuts wasn't ebbing even in the slightest.

"Oh, not too far, you actually managed to get pretty close! I'm actually not sure how no one found you before I did." Sealpaw told Foxy Lady cheerfully. "Just a little longer, don't worry!"

Foxy Lady swished her tail slightly in skepticism. Though she hadn't been around other cats since she lived with her mother and brothers, Foxy Lady still retained some social skills by nature and something told her Sealpaw wasn't being entirely truthful. Sealpaw seemed to catch onto Foxy Lady's hesitance and purred in amusement, swishing her tail as she gracefully moved around the thorn-branches. "Honestly, I promise we're almost there, I know you just met me but you've got to believe me."

Foxy Lady didn't respond, but felt her pelt flush with embarrassment over her transparency. She did her best to ignore the pain and skepticism and to simply focus on mimicking Sealpaw's movements.

As they walked, Foxy Lady caught the scent of other cats, but couldn't find it in herself to focus further on them as the scent and roar of water grew stronger with each paw-step. The smell reminded her vaguely of Sealpaw's scent, but sharper and fresher in a way that both peaked her interest and made her afraid. By the sound of it, there was a great amount of water, far greater than the little bit her housefolk kept out for her in the little glass dish. Sealpaw, however, didn't seem bothered by the ever-present sound of the swaying water nearby, really she just looked more and comfortable the closer to the water they got.

"Um, Sealpaw?" Foxy Lady asked.

Sealpaw glanced back at her, concern in her eyes. "Are your paws okay? If you need to stop and rest for a bit that's okay, really."

Foxy Lady shook her head, "No, no it's fine, if I stop it's just going to be harder to start again. I-I was just wondering, how much water is there where we're going? It sounds like a lot. And who all lives here? Just you and Stripes?"

Sealpaw purred loudly at her question, amusement replacing any concern in her expression. "Stripes? Oh, I'm going to have to call him that! It sounds like a kittypet name, he'll hate it! His name is Stripedtail, and no I live with a whole bunch of cats! There's our leader, Tinystar, and Dolphintooth the deputy, and there's a ton of warriors that live with me too like my parents, Seasong and Eelfang and lots of apprentices too!

"As for the water, there's so much of it! Like, you just won't believe it! I still have a hard time comprehending how much water there is and I've lived right next to it my whole life! But it's awesome, once your paws start healing up a bit, I'll have to teach you to swim it's so much fun! You even have the right fur for it, Foxy Lady, really you have no idea how jealous I am of your coat, it's not too short but not too long either and sleek-looking, I'd bet if you started eating a bunch of fish it'd get water-proofed easily! You'd be an amazing diver, you really have no idea!

"And once you've learned to swim, maybe I can help you hunt in the tide pools, there's easy pickings for beginner hunters like you. I know you're a kittypet and probably don't eat much more than those dry pellet things, but once you taste prey that you caught yourself you'll just love it! Maybe then Tinystar will let you become a ReefClan cat like me! It'd be nice to have another friend, Sharkpaw, Sleekpaw, Coralpaw, Wavepaw, and Coconutpaw don't spend a whole lot of time around me… although I'm making progress with Coralpaw since she's been stuck in the medicine cat den with me and Stripedtail. Either way, I bet we'll be great friends if you stick around! And, if you join ReefClan, Tinystar will give you a better name." Sealpaw purred enthusiastically, a bounce in her step as she talked about her life by the water.

Foxy Lady wasn't sure about what she was saying, all the strange names confused her very much, but for now, she would stay with Sealpaw. After what her housefolk did to her, Foxy Lady knew she couldn't go back to them and she clearly didn't know how to properly look after herself. Sealpaw and her ReefClan seemed to be her only sensible option for the time being, but she wouldn't know for sure until she got to wherever Sealpaw was taking her to.

A series of low growls and snarls and paws thumping hurriedly across dirt suddenly filled the area around Foxy Lady and Sealpaw. Three cats thundered into view: a golden tabby she-cat, black and gray tom, and mottled tortoiseshell she-cat. None looked pleased to see Foxy Lady and the hostile yowls and hisses made her cower and fluff her fur out in terror. Sealpaw had frightened her at first too, but these cats were far more intimidating and didn't look like they would be offering help like Sealpaw had. These cats stalked towards her, hackles up and lips peeled back to reveal sharp fangs and pink gums. Sealpaw wasn't scared of these cats at all, keeping her friendly disposition and purring in greeting.

"Hi everyone, don't worry, she's just a kittypet who hurt herself. I promise she won't hurt anyone!" Sealpaw told them, earning the three cats' attention.

The golden tabby spoke first, her voice firm and hardly pleased by Sealpaw's declaration. "Sealpaw, what are you doing out by yourself? You know Tinystar doesn't want you out here unguarded, yet here you are bringing a stranger to our camp!"

Sealpaw's expression deflated a bit and she lowered her head in shame and respect. "I know, I'm sorry, Risingsun, I'm just not used to needing a guard. As for Foxy Lady-"

The tortoiseshell snorted at Foxy Lady's name, making Sealpaw falter a bit in her explanation, but she continued.

"-she's safe, really! I found her in with the kiawe trees with shredded paws. She's lost and doesn't know what she's doing out here, when she saw me she was so scared she couldn't even speak! I'm just taking her back so I can patch her up. Please let her come to camp, I promise she's harmless." Sealpaw finished, looking at the golden tabby, Risingsun, with hope in her eyes.

Risingsun hissed lowly, her tail lashing behind her in annoyance. "Well considering how far she is into the territory and Tinystar's new policies are, she has to come to camp now. Tinystar will decide what to do with her then." She looked sharply at the young gray she-cat, "Next time, do not assume that all are welcome to ReefClan to use our resources and until further notice, do not leave camp unaccompanied again, do you understand, Sealpaw?"

Sealpaw stared at her paws, "Yes, I understand Risingsun. Sorry, Risingsun."

The black and gray tom looked smugly at Sealpaw, seeming to be pleased about Risingsun's verdict. However, he did not say a word and that unnerved Foxy Lady. Risingsun and the tortoiseshell didn't seem to notice the younger-looking tom, their attentions fully focused on Sealpaw and Foxy Lady. Foxy Lady noticed the tortoiseshell she-cat studying her the most, seeming to otherwise ignore Sealpaw. Her gaze wasn't threatening though, merely thoughtful, as though she saw something in Foxy Lady that she couldn't pinpoint. The black she-cat was grateful that at least one other cat from this new group didn't seem to automatically hate her like Risingsun and the tom.

Risingsun seemed placated by Sealpaw's response and turned her stern attention to Foxy Lady. "You will be escorted to camp and Tinystar will decide your fate, kittypet."

With an authoritative swish of her tail, Risingsun lead the four cats in the direction of camp.


	3. Chapter 2: Kittypet

_Chapter 2: Kittypet_

By the time Foxy Lady made it to Sealpaw's supposed camp, the injuries on her paws had reopened and she left crimson paw-prints in the dirt. Sealpaw seemed concerned and sympathetic, but the rest of the cats who escorted her didn't seem to care very much, though she couldn't see what the tortoiseshell, who walked behind her, thought of it.

The camp was nothing like her housefolks' den like she had sort of been expecting. At first glance, Foxy Lady didn't see much of a difference between what they had just walked through and what stood before them now. On closer inspection, she noted some shallow caves and dirt mounds beneath the low-hanging trees scattered around the area. Cats were everywhere, sprawled across smooth black stones and reddish-brown dirt. Some were grooming, others talking with one another softly in the shade of the gangly trees.

Slowly, one by one, the cats seemed to notice Foxy Lady's presence in Risingsun's group. Most had either looks of curiosity or distain, quickly picking up on her unfamiliar scent. Low meows and growls rumbled in their throats, hackles rose, eyes narrowed, and a few even stalked closer to her.

Foxy Lady was able to hold her ground until a loud, authoritative yowl broke loose and a sturdy gray tom leapt out from nowhere, his stump of a tail raised stiffly and his head held high. She lowered herself so her belly was against the dirt, wanting the ground that stained the tom's white paws a reddish color as he sped towards them. Risingsun didn't look alarmed and kept her stance.

"Tinystar." Risingsun greeted with a respectful nod, stepping away so Foxy Lady was in his full view.

"Who is this?" The tom, Tinystar, asked sharply, looking harshly at poor Foxy Lady.

"A kittypet. Sealpaw found her while she was out by herself." Risingsun hissed, glaring at Sealpaw, who bowed her head in shame in response.

Tinystar lashed his tail stump in frustration, his attention leaving Foxy Lady for Sealpaw, his eyes glowing furiously. "Sealpaw! How many times must you be told? You do not leave camp unattended! The same goes for Stripedtail, the elders, kits, and other apprentices. As a medicine cat apprentice, you are too valuable and vulnerable to risk being ambushed by MistClan. You cannot leave camp unattended and you certainly cannot bring strangers to camp, the heart of our territory, at a time like this!"

"I'm sorry, Tinystar, I'm just not used to things being like this yet." Sealpaw murmured apologetically, staring at her paws in an attempt to avoid her leader's fury.

"Your punishment will be decided later, for now, Kittypet, who are you and what are your intentions in ReefClan territory?" Tinystar asked.

Foxy Lady drew in a deep breath, coaxing herself to respond to Tinystar's questions. "I-I'm Foxy Lady, I didn't know anyone lived here, I swear! I'm just trying to run away from my housefolk."

She froze when Tinystar leaned towards her and sniffed at her fur. When he pulled away, his gaze was less angry and more thoughtful, as though considering her words. "You don't smell of MistClan and you don't appear to be very muscular… Alright, I believe you're telling the truth. Is there a reason you have left your twolegs?"

"Twolegs?" Foxy Lady echoed, her whiskers twitching in confusion.

Tinystar growled in irritation, "Yes, twolegs, your 'housefolk'. Why are you leaving them?"

Foxy Lady's pelt flushed with humiliation. "Oh! Sorry, I had to leave. They took me to the cutter and let him hurt me, I can't go back. I can't forgive them for this."

Tinystar's jaws parted slightly, scenting the air before responding. "They've made you barren, haven't they? Twolegs have done that to some of our own as well. They set up traps for us and take us away for a few days. When cats who are taken return, their scents change and they are never able to have kits." He glanced down towards her stomach. "Is there a wound? She-cats who are taken away always return with a wound along their bellies."

Foxy Lady nodded numbly. She hadn't known what to make of the stomach-wound until then and know that she knew, devastation filled her. Though she lived with her housefolk, away from other cats, she figured eventually she would have kits like her mother had. If Tinystar was right, this made things even worse. Any thought of returning to her housefolk vanished with his words. She would learn to be like these cats, to take care of herself and survive outside in the thick, searing heat.

"They hurt my paws, too." Foxy Lady told him, lifting an injured paw for emphasis.

Tinystar's sympathy seemed to wane with this statement, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "That isn't the work of twolegs, kittypet, you just ran across the lava fields incorrectly."

Foxy Lady's eyes widened as she realized her error in explanation and shook her head roughly, "No, no not those wounds! I just got those today, I meant they're gone. They let the cutter take my claws away, look, if I flex my paw nothing happens." She attempted to unsheathe her claws on her raised paw, wanting to yowl with grief when nothing happened. She knew nothing would happen when she flexed her paw, but she still felt anguish when her claws didn't appear.

Tinystar fell silent for a moment, his green eyes fixated on Foxy Lady's paw before he looked up at her again. "I'm sorry for your loss, kittypet, I will offer Stripedtail's services for your paws and feed and shelter you until you've healed, but my generosity will end there. You will have to leave, times are tough for ReefClan, we cannot care for you for long and a cat with no claws or the ability to bear kits has no place here."

Despite the fact that Tinystar had no interest in keeping her around, Foxy Lady was grateful to have a place to rest and something to eat. She sighed in relief and purred, gratefulness shining in her eyes. "Thank you, I will do my best to stay out of the way during my stay." She promised firmly.

Tinystar dipped his head in acknowledgement then hollered, "Stripedtail!"

Sealpaw stiffened beside Foxy Lady, her ears flattening in nervousness as her dark-furred mentor appeared from beneath a low-lying tree, dirt and one of the thorn-branches that littered the path to camp clinging to his flank. Amber eyes flashed as they took in Foxy Lady's presence, his banded tail swishing behind him until he reached Tinystar's side. Stripedtail didn't ever look at Tinystar, his gaze fixated on Foxy Lady, but still spoke to him. "Who is this?"

"A temporary visitor." Tinystar simplified, "She will be staying with us until her paws heal, I need you to take a look at her injuries and I needed to remind you to better discipline your apprentice."

Stripedtail finally looked away from Foxy Lady, narrowing his intense eyes at Sealpaw, whose tail twitched anxiously. "May I ask why I need to better discipline Sealpaw?"

Tinystar growled lowly, "Sealpaw found and guided the kittypet to camp and left camp unattended. Can I trust that you will deal with this and ensure it won't happen again, Stripedtail?"

The dark gray tom sighed, "Yes, I thought Sealpaw was mature enough to follow your orders without prompting from me, but apparently I overestimated her."

Sealpaw bowed her head in shame, "I'm sorry, Stripedtail, I thought I was doing the right thing in bringing her here. I'm not used to inter-clan conflict, it won't happen again."

Stripedtail hissed at his apprentice, "It better not!" He looked back at Foxy Lady. "Come here, kittypet, I will examine your paws in my den. Sealpaw will prepare you a nest." As soon as he spoke, Sealpaw darted towards where Stripedtail came from, seemingly eager to get away from Tinystar and Stripedtail's scrutiny.

Foxy Lady hardly had time to react before Stripedtail followed after Sealpaw, leaving her standing stupidly in the company of Tinystar and Risingsun's patrol. Tinystar looked at her expectantly, looking impatient for the black-furred she-cat to leave his presence. She didn't disappoint, padding after Stripedtail hesitantly, lowering herself so she was slinking across the dirt with the burning gazes of many strange cats on her pelt. Foxy Lady hadn't noticed them when she spoke with Tinystar, but without his intense gaze and accusing voice to focus on, all she could notice was the hostile looks the strangers gave her.

Had she not been hurt, tired, and hungry, those looks would have made her run for her life and never looked back. That in mind, Foxy Lady kept her head low and didn't make eye contact with any of the strangers in the dirt, following the faint paw-prints left by Stripedtail.

When she had the courage to look up from the dirt, Foxy Lady was met by Stripedtail's impatient gaze. His tail flicked and he spoke, "Your paws are injured, kittypet, right? Please sit down so I can better examine you."

Foxy Lady hurriedly nodded, her fur prickling nervously as she followed the tom's instructions. She raised a paw and watched as Stripedtail sniffed at it before turning and rifling through piles of plants. The plants rested in shallow scoops in the dirt, each sorted meticulously in a way that caught Foxy Lady's attention. It almost reminded her of the way her housefolk would store their things. Stripedtail lifted a fat, long green plant with a clear, gel-like substance on its exposed inside and then selected a big, broad dead leaf with sticky-looking goop piled on top of it, setting them down in front of her.

Stripedtail didn't tell her anything about the items he selected and bowed his head to gather the fat green plant in his jaws and began to chew it up. Foxy Lady's face screwed up in disgust, she couldn't imagine chewing on a plant like that! It looked awful, so awful the black she-cat had to look away from him.

She wrapped her tail tightly around herself in comfort and made herself look around where Stripedtail brought her. Foxy Lady supposed it could be considered a 'den', little walls of the horrid jagged black stones were used to frame the area beneath the low-laying tree and provide an illusion of privacy for Stripedtail and anyone else inside, and three piles of flattened, dead, long grasses were built up, two on one side of the den, and one on the opposite. She wondered if most cats had dens like this one.

"Kittypet, your paw." Stripedtail prompted, watching her with irritation.

Foxy Lady flattened her ears and muttered a soft apology, lifting her paw again, exposing the mutilated flesh to him. He picked up a dead leaf, a much smaller one than the big one with the sticky goop on it, which was smothered in a chunky, sticky-looking poultice resting on its surface. The undesirable mixture was slowly sliding across the leaf, making Foxy Lady's lip curl in disgust. Stripedtail didn't comment on Foxy Lady's animated distaste for his practice and pressed the unsightly substance against her paw pads.

She hissed in pain, jerking her paw away from Stripedtail, who hissed back at her. "Stop that!" Stripedtail snapped, "You can't be squirming around."

Foxy Lady closed her eyes and followed his orders. When Stripedtail told her to lift a paw or lower one, she did so and forced herself to keep still when every stinging poultice was applied to them. After the fourth glob was applied, Foxy Lady opened her eyes to see Stripedtail standing in front of her, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"You're good to go, Kittypet. Sealpaw should be back soon with the nesting materials soon. Try not to move around much until then, though. I don't want to use more herbs on you than I have to." Stripedtail told her, his banded tail swishing leisurely behind him.

Foxy Lady nodded compliantly. Stripedtail, satisfied with her response, spoke again. "I'll be back shorty, Kittypet, Coralpaw has been gone for too long." He lashed his tail in irritation, "I swear, no cat listens to me anymore."

Foxy Lady didn't move until she was certain Stripedtail had gone. She let out a sigh of relief and sagged her shoulders, hoping Sealpaw would return before Stripedtail did. Sealpaw was a kinder, less threatening presence that Foxy Lady was beginning to miss. Besides, she was the only cat around here that didn't call her 'Kittypet'.

The black she-cat slowly turned her body so she was facing the exit of the den and watched. Cats still peered at the den, muttering and growling to each other about Foxy Lady's sudden presence in their camp, but what interested her was how Tinystar and the tortoiseshell were still at the entrance of camp. They were in conversation, but Foxy Lady was too far away to properly hear anything over the chatter of the other cats.

She watched the two curiously. The tortoiseshell was still completely relaxed yet powerful looking all at once and Tinystar looked tense, his bobbed tail fidgeting behind him stiffly. Foxy Lady wondered what they were talking about and if it had anything to do with her.

Foxy Lady didn't have time to further examine the two for long, as Sealpaw's light gray and white pelt came into view. She had a bundle of dead grasses tucked under her white throat against her chest as she padded quickly towards Foxy Lady.

Sealpaw glanced around the den and sighed in relief, dropping her bundle of dead grasses at her paws. "Thank StarClan Stripedtail's not here," she looked Foxy Lady's way, "I promise they're not usually like this. Tinystar and Stripedtail can be a little high-strung at times, but they're hardly this hostile towards outsiders like you. I bet at least Tinystar will come around and offer you a place here in a few days, MistClan just has everyone on edge."

"Who is MistClan?" Foxy Lady asked, grateful for the young cat's renewed presence in the den.

Sealpaw's eyes darkened, "They are the cats of the highlands. Lately they've been very antagonistic and there was even a nighttime attack on camp! None of us knows what's gotten into them, Stagstar, their leader, has been in charge for quite some time and he's never acted like this before. We haven't been attacked by any cats in so long… it's just difficult for us all to understand. Our warriors actually have to use their fighting skills now, it's crazy!

"So, claws or no claws, I don't think Tinystar will want to turn down another cat who could defend ReefClan territory. I'm certain there's a way for a clawless cat like you to fight and hunt, it's just going to take some creativity." Sealpaw told Foxy Lady, her voice lifting and becoming more optimistic as she spoke.

Foxy Lady shifted uncomfortably at her words. This was a whole new world that she never intended to become a part of. Clans, fighting, hunting, she didn't get it. Foxy Lady didn't want to get it, but Sealpaw seemed to think she did. She didn't dare tell Sealpaw otherwise though. These cats, though part of something Foxy Lady had no desire to join herself, were helping her out for at least the night and she had no intention of risking this help. They already called her Kittypet over her real name, she would not push things by refuting Sealpaw's hopes.

Sealpaw, to Foxy Lady's relief, did not notice her discomfort and began constructing a nest for her. In hopes to get away from talking about joining these cats, Foxy Lady asked, "Who else sleeps here?"

The light gray she-cat purred, thrilled at the apparent interest in ReefClan. "This is the medicine cat den, so Stripedtail and I sleep here every night on that side of the den," She gestured with a tail flick at the two nests on one side of the den, "And on the other side, patients sleep. Right now, Coralpaw is also sleeping in here, but she doesn't usually. She was hurt badly in the night ambush MistClan launched a little bit ago, a wave came and forced her into the ocean and she got knocked around quite a bit. She's about ready to move back to the apprentice den, just a few more days for her here."

Foxy Lady nodded lightly and watched with mild interest as Sealpaw continued to shape the dead grass into a nest, nosing and prodding it into place. "I hope Stripedtail isn't too mad at me," She muttered as she patted an errant clump of grass down, "He's so hard to read sometimes, I can't tell if he's really angry at me or not."

Foxy Lady stayed silent, unsure of what to say. She didn't know Sealpaw or Stripedtail very well and wasn't sure of what she was supposed to say. Sealpaw was acting as though she and Foxy Lady had been lifelong friends when they'd known each other for less than a day!

Was this how all cats acted?

She hadn't noticed that Sealpaw was still talking until she heard her name. "-so what do you think, Foxy Lady?" Foxy Lady's ear-tips flushed in embarrassment when she realized Sealpaw had paused in making the nest and was looking questioningly at her.

"Um… I don't know? I'm sure everything will work out though." Foxy Lady stammered, unsure of how to respond to something she didn't hear.

Sealpaw sighed and gave a curt nod. "Yes, I suppose you're right. You know, there's nothing in the rules about Stripedtail not being allowed to have two apprentices… maybe once Tinystar decides to let you join you could train with me!" She said animatedly, "Then your lack of claws and kit-bearing abilities wouldn't matter! You've also got this soothing kind of presence, Foxy Lady, you made me feel better about the whole sneaking out of camp and bringing a stranger to camp thing and that's one of the most important parts of being a medicine cat! If you can't make your patients feel calm and like it'll all be okay it's hard to have this position. That's Stripedtail's biggest complaint, he's not at all sympathetic, well he is, he just doesn't show it. Like at all."

Foxy Lady blinked and said stupidly, "Oh."

Sealpaw held her tail up in excitement, purring loudly. "Yes, that could work great! Tell you what, if Tinystar doesn't come around soon, just start showing an interest in the herbs in here and ask questions about them when Stripedtail's around. If you need help remembering the things he tells you about them, I can help out. Also, describing weird dreams to him would help as well! If you do that sort of thing, Stripedtail might ask Tinystar to let you join to be his second apprentice."

What was she talking about? Dreams? Foxy Lady barely recalled dreaming ever and the ones she remembered were pretty average with most revolving around her daily routine back in the city. Sometimes, they'd lead to her leaving her nest and wandering around the concrete city on her own, but those were a rarity. Would Stripedtail really want to hear about those few and far between dreams about her life with her housefolk?

"I don't really have weird dreams though." Foxy Lady responded, watching Sealpaw with a puzzled expression.

Sealpaw shook her head lightly, "Don't worry about that, we can talk more about this tomorrow. Maybe tonight your dreams will get a little weirder?"

Foxy Lady sighed, happy that Sealpaw seemed to be ready to drop the topic. She looked at the nest Sealpaw put together. A few rebellious strands of grass stuck up, but it didn't look too bad; it had to be better than sleeping in the dirt and giant thorns like she had earlier. She moved closer to it and patted it tentatively with her paw, which was still slathered in goop, feeling that it was light-weight and hardly cushiony like what she was used to.

Sealpaw watched Foxy Lady with hope in her eyes, "Do you like it? I put it together pretty quickly, so it might not be perfect."

"It's… nice." Foxy Lady said hesitantly, stepping all the way into it and sitting down. She was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. There was some cushion, it was dirt-free, and there wasn't a single thorn in it! It could still be improved, but for the upcoming night, Foxy Lady deemed it to be acceptable.

Sealpaw beamed at Foxy Lady, and likely would've responded with something regarding her joining ReefClan, had it not been for Stripedtail's return. The cross dark-furred tom returned, hardly pleased, with a peach-colored tabby she-cat trailing unhappily behind him. Sealpaw twitched her ears in greeting, to which Stripedtail responded, "Sealpaw, we need to talk. Coralpaw, get some rest. If you are to return to training in the upcoming days, you need to rest, alright? This is the kittypet, she will be staying with us for a while." He nodded towards Foxy Lady, who fought a look of mild irritation from surfacing; she wished Stripedtail would stop calling her kittypet and just ask for her name.

The peach-colored cat, Coralpaw, narrowed her eyes and looked at Foxy Lady with scrutiny. "A kittypet?" She looked to Stripedtail for confirmation.

Stripedtail didn't respond and gestured for Sealpaw to follow him. Sealpaw nervously looked to Foxy Lady before trailing after her mentor for a most unwelcomed talk. With them gone, the new cat, Coralpaw, peeled her lips back at Foxy Lady in hostility. "Who are you and what do you think you're doing here?" She demanded.

"My name's Foxy Lady, I'm here because my paws are hurt and because Sealpaw invited me." She told Coralpaw awkwardly, unsure of how to answer the angry young cat.

Coralpaw hissed, examining the closeness of their nests. She stalked over to the preexisting nest, which Foxy Lady assumed was hers, and pawed it further away from the nest Sealpaw had just constructed. Coralpaw glared harshly at Foxy Lady and stiffly laid down in her nest, which was about a tail-length away from Foxy Lady's. Foxy Lady hoped that Coralpaw would turn in her nest so she would be facing her back, but she didn't, her vibrant green eyes burning holes in Foxy Lady's black pelt.

So far, Sealpaw seemed to be the only cat in ReefClan happy about having a kittypet around.


	4. Chapter 3: Her Shadow

Chapter 3: Her Shadow

When Foxy Lady woke up, it was still dark and the bodies of Coralpaw, Sealpaw, and Stripedtail were still dead asleep around her. Her body was stiff, her paws burned, and all the sudden the nest felt very scratchy and thin; she may as well have fallen asleep on the dirt. She tried shifting around to get comfortable again, but nothing was working.

As quietly as she could, Foxy Lady stood from her nest and hesitantly stepped towards the den's exit. She glanced cautiously at the other cats around her, hoping desperately not to wake anyone, namely the irritable Coralpaw. Foxy Lady was relieved when she managed to leave the den without disturbing anyone and felt a surge of pride; she was stealthy enough not to rouse the sleeping wild cats.

Her eyes darted around the shaded clearing and her ears pricked at the still unfamiliar sound of the ocean rocking back and forth nearby. Foxy Lady's tail twitched and she pushed onwards, ignoring the nagging, stinging sensation in her paws. So far, Foxy Lady didn't see any of the hostile cats who'd glared at her earlier, but remained vigilant. Without Sealpaw or Stripedtail there to deflect any negative attention, Foxy Lady felt vulnerable, yet she continued moving forward.

To her relief, Foxy Lady was able to get out of the camp rather easily, making no disturbances and simply walking out without incident. She felt a spike of confidence, allowing herself to stand at her typical height and tail to raise itself in triumph; maybe she stood a chance out here after all.

Foxy Lady grimaced as more of the terrible black stones that shredded her paws came into view. Great chunks of the razer-sharp rock replaced the fine reddish soil quickly after leaving camp and framed the edge of the silvery water before her. There were little black pebbles, too, which were well rounded and were only painful to step on because of her wounds. Foxy Lady's ears pricked and her eyes gleamed in the moonlight as she finally saw the water Sealpaw gushed about on her way to camp. The scent of salt was so strong she could taste it, it assaulted and overtook her senses entirely. Her gaze was trained on the shadowed water and she felt herself trotting to reach it quicker.

More blood leaked out of her paws, the fresh scabs tearing against the smooth stones, but Foxy Lady paid it no mind. She was entranced by the salty water to the point where her injuries may as well not have existed. Though Foxy Lady had never seen this much water before, this felt like a homecoming to her, it felt as though she had once lived beside the massive body of water before and was torn away from it. Joy and curiosity radiated through her, her pelt prickled and her tail curled at the vibrant emotions it evoked.

A thrill ran through Foxy Lady when she finally dipped a paw into the water. Her eyes widened and she hissed in pain, recoiling and drawing her paw out of the water as quickly as she could. It was freezing and her paw felt like it was on fire!

"Put it back in," A voice came from behind Foxy Lady, earning an alarmed yowl from the black she-cat, "With those wounds, it'll hurt at first, but you'll get over it."

Foxy Lady looked behind her, eyes wide, as she took in the familiar form of the nameless mottled tortoiseshell from Risingsun's patrol. The tortoiseshell's cool amber eyes flickered in impatience and she said again, "Go on, put your paw back in, Kittypet, it's not that bad."

Foxy Lady's ears flattened, but she did as she was told and tentatively put her now wet paw back into the massive pool of water, hissing lowly as she did so. Like the first time, it burned, but the tortoiseshell was right and the pain subsided fairly quickly. Though Foxy Lady was facing the water, she could feel the tortoiseshell watching her when she told her, "Now put your other front paw in."

She did as she was told and suppressed a yowl of pain at the cold, salty water washing over her wounds. The water lapped at her legs, drenching her dark fur instantly. Foxy Lady didn't know how to feel about the sensation of being in the water, but she didn't hate it.

"At first, I wasn't sure of what to make of the ocean either, Kittypet, but I learned to love it and you will as well." The tortoiseshell meowed, her expression unreadable.

Foxy Lady felt a sudden surge of irritation surge through her. "My name is not Kittypet and I'm not staying here!" She snarled, fur bristling and green eyes flashing at the strange she-cat.

The tortoiseshell did not appear phased in the slightest by her little outburst and responded softly, yet firmly. "Your name is ridiculous, never before have I met a kittypet with such a terrible name and I cannot say it with a straight face. And if you don't stay here, where will you go? You don't seem too keen on returning to your twolegs, and judging on how poorly you fared before meeting Sealpaw, you don't seem to have survival skills.

"Despite how Tinystar acted earlier, he won't turn away a cat who can't defend itself whether we're at war or not. Tomorrow, Tinystar will probably initiate you into ReefClan, give you a proper name, and assign you to a mentor who will teach you to embrace the ocean and all it has to offer us. In turn for your training and wellbeing, you will find a way to service ReefClan until you either die or retire with the elders. You will learn respect and discipline with ReefClan and eventually pass those traits down to the younger generations. Though you cannot physically create kits, you can very much influence the kits of other ReefClan members to form them into great warriors.

"Even if it turns out that you cannot be a warrior, you will still be able to find a place in ReefClan where you can help existing warriors and shape young kits into formidable warriors with good morals. Tinystar knows this, his judgement has simply been clouded lately by MistClan. He will come around, Kittypet." The tortoiseshell finished, her voice sharp and crisp as she spoke, amber eyes glinting with resolve.

Foxy Lady was impressed with herself when she kept a confident stance and bravely raised her head to meet the larger cat's eye-level. "I can tell Tinystar that I don't want to stay here-"

"But where would you go?" The tortoiseshell interrupted.

Foxy Lady backed out of the water and turned to face the familiar stranger before her. "It doesn't matter, I'll find something."

The tortoiseshell snorted rudely at Foxy Lady, "That's not good enough. You're a young she-cat, no more than seven or eight moons old, Tinystar won't let such a young, ignorant cat go out alone into the world with no plan and no skills to speak of. It would be incredibly irresponsible."

"How do you know?" Foxy Lady questioned, some of her boldness receding.

"I wasn't born into this clan, I was a kittypet like you. I got lost, couldn't find my way home, and was on the brink of starvation when ReefClan found me. I was terrified, I didn't want to go with them, but they made me. They fed me, named me, trained me, and taught me everything. I never wanted their help, I wanted to leave like you and find my twolegs again, but Tinystar prohibited me from leaving and I am forever grateful for his actions. When I became a warrior, Tinystar gave me the option to leave if I wanted to and I willingly chose to stay. I have confidence that if you are fully trained, Tinystar will give you the same option he gave me." The tortoiseshell told Foxy Lady, her tone softening as she spoke.

Her words made Foxy Lady relax a little. If the tortoiseshell wasn't lying, she wasn't completely opposed to going along with what ReefClan wanted from her; training here could only help her.

"What was your name?" Foxy Lady asked.

"My name is Longshadow," she replied coolly, blinking slowly at Foxy Lady.

Foxy Lady tilted her head, "Your housefolk called you Longshadow?"

A fierce look overtook the tortoiseshell, Longshadow, her fur bristling for a moment before she responded. "No." Longshadow, said curtly, her tone leaving no room for further discussion.

Foxy Lady shifted uncomfortably under Longshadow's gaze. "Oh."

"Why are you out here?" Longshadow asked after a brief period of silence.

"I couldn't sleep." Foxy Lady responded simply.

Longshadow flicked her tail, "Fair enough. These nests take some getting used to. Give it a moon or so and you'll sleep nicely."

"And why are you out here? Did I wake you?" Foxy Lady questioned.

"I'm the tidal guard tonight."

"Tidal guard?" Foxy Lady echoed, curiosity reaching back into her voice.

Longshadow nodded, "A tidal guard is stationed out here each night and is charged with watching the tide. If the water displays any strange behavior or reaches up to a tail-length from camp, I have to go and alert the camp so we can evacuate it."

Foxy Lady's eyes widened, "The water can really reach all the way to camp?"

A look of amusement crossed Longshadow's expression, betrayed only by the erratic twitching of her whiskers as she struggled to remain serious-looking. "Yes, the sea is capable of reaching very far inland, once it even reached the base of MistClan's highland territory. Once the ocean decides it wants to move inland, things move quickly, so even if it's just the subtlest sign of something being off with the water, it is the duty of the tidal guard to alert the clan. It is a very important job."

Foxy Lady glanced behind her at the water anxiously, "Does that happen often?"

"No, hardly at all actually. I've lived here since I was eight moons old and I've never witnessed one of the great waves. Even the elders haven't lived to see one, it is merely information that older generations have passed down." The tortoiseshell reassured the younger cat.

"Well how do you know if the water's going to come inland?" Foxy Lady asked, still worriedly watching the ocean as though she expected to be swallowed up by the little waves at any moment.

"I was taught to watch for the shoreline to recede so far back that coral is exposed, listen for any roaring sounds, and to feel for any ground shaking. If I notice any of that, I will have to run back to camp as fast as I can to wake everyone up and get to higher grounds. ReefClan has a piece of territory near the MistClan border that the water can't climb, it's far away, but it's still something." Longshadow responded.

At this, Foxy Lady relaxed a little. The ground was still, the ocean was calm, and the only thing that could be heard was the gentle rocking of the water. "The water is still dangerous though," Longshadow told her, "Even when it's not trying to leap up shore, you need to exercise caution when interacting with it."

Foxy Lady merely nodded at the tortoiseshell cat. At her lack of questioning, Longshadow went on, "How about you stay out here with me, Kittypet. You're probably going to end up staying here longer than you think, might as well get you used to watching the ocean."

"Oh… okay." Foxy Lady mumbled, hesitantly sitting beside the older cat to face the open ocean.

The two stayed there, side by side in silence, until dawn broke over the seemingly endless ocean's horizon. A ginger she-cat padded up to Longshadow, giving Foxy Lady a brief questioning look before nodding to Longshadow. The tortoiseshell she-cat nodded back at the new cat, "Good morning, Geckostripe."

The ginger cat, Geckostripe, returned the pleasantry and settled herself near the water to watch the tide for the day. Foxy Lady was grateful when Longshadow finally decided to go back to camp and followed her. Though she was facing towards Longshadow, Foxy Lady could feel Geckostripe watching her and fought the urge to run away from the strange cat's attention.

XxXxX

A large, fluffy blue-gray tom was waiting with Tinystar when Foxy Lady and Longshadow came back. Both sets of eyes were on Foxy Lady when Tinystar spoke, "What is the kittypet doing with you, Longshadow?"

Longshadow calmly blinked at her leader, "She happened to stumble upon me while I was standing guard, so I taught her about being a tidal guard and had her practice with me."

"You do know she's not going to stay, why are you wasting your time?" The blue-gray tom asked, watching her with an odd expression.

She watched him evenly. "It's only fair that a young cat with no idea of how to survive on her own at least knows about the threats the ocean can present, Dolphintooth. I couldn't send her back to Stripedtail's den in good conscious," Longshadow shifted her gaze from the big fluffy tom to Tinystar, "don't forget, I've been in her position, too."

Tinystar gave Longshadow a look of warning, his thick pelt bristling at his warrior. "I see what you're doing, Longshadow, and you know it won't work. Your situation is different from this kittypet's. You never saw the cutter. You never lost your ability to yield kits or use your claws. We already have Sealpaw, another medicine cat's apprentice is not needed here and she couldn't possibly be a warrior or a queen, you know that, Longshadow, don't act like I'm a monster for turning a kittypet away who can't offer us anything in turn during these tense times."

Foxy Lady looked at her paws, uncomfortable at the conversation between the three wild cats. She felt as though she ought to leave, but couldn't. The three cats didn't appear to notice the small aggregation of ReefClan members beginning to watch and mutter to each other either.

Longshadow flattened her ears and her tail lashed behind her, finally looking agitated at her leader's words. "Let me prove you wrong. The kittypet can be a warrior, I guarantee it. Let me mentor her, if I can teach her to hunt and fight without claws then there is no reason why she can't stay! With MistClan being so aggressive, how can we turn any cat away, Tinystar?"

Tinystar's glare was murderous, "No. This kittypet will never, ever be in my clan, is that understood, Longshadow?"

Longshadow met his glare with her own, but said nothing and merely turned around, leaving Foxy Lady with an angry Tinystar. The young black she-cat skittishly moved away from the tom, "Um, I'm going to find Stripedtail now."

Tinystar simply twitched his whiskers in irritation and muttered something to the blue-gray tom, Dolphintooth, before stiffly stalking away without giving Foxy Lady another glance. Pelt bristling uncomfortably, Foxy Lady was relieved to see Sealpaw watching on with concern by the medicine den. She increased her pace at the sight of the gray and white she-cat, anxiously glancing around at the other cats she had yet to meet as though expecting them to pounce on her at any moment.

She let out a deep breath when she reached Sealpaw. "Where were you last night?" Sealpaw hissed quietly, ushering her inside.

"I couldn't sleep so I went to find the water and ran into Longshadow. I wanted to come back earlier, but she wouldn't let me." Foxy Lady told her.

Sealpaw lashed her tail harshly, "You shouldn't have left like that! When I woke up and saw you weren't there I was so worried! I mean, Stripedtail told me not to worry and that you were probably fine, but still! Don't do that again!"

The thought of Sealpaw, a cat she knew for less than two days, being concerned about her made Foxy Lady rather uncomfortable, but she didn't voice her discomforts. Instead, she simply nodded her head in agreement and assured her, "I won't."

Sealpaw looked curiously out at the clearing, then looked back at Foxy Lady. "They always bicker and fight," she reassured, "Longshadow and Tinystar always feel like they know best and really whenever they're around each other they end up snapping at one another. I'm pretty sure Longshadow wishes she was leader instead so she could boss Tinystar around for once." Sealpaw seemed amused as she finished speaking, putting Foxy Lady at ease.

Perhaps the altercation between them really wasn't that big of a deal.

XxXxX

The poultices on Foxy Lady's paws, even covered in the thick, bulky leaves Stripedtail had provided, were sticky and seemed determined to pick up as much dirt as possible and leave no pebbles or small leaves behind. Foxy Lady wasn't about to complain though, as she followed Sealpaw quietly through the dry, hot, kiawe forest by the sea. She nearly hadn't followed Sealpaw when she invited her on a tour of the area, as Tinystar seemed to dislike her enough already without her and Sealpaw leaving camp without a warrior escort, but Sealpaw seemed so excited about it that she couldn't bring herself to tell her no. Sealpaw didn't seem concerned, despite being scolded just yesterday for doing the same thing.

She walked with a bounce to herself, wriggling excitedly as she pointed out landmarks to Foxy Lady that she knew she'd forget shortly after seeing. The light gray and white apprentice animatedly pointed out a particularly mangled, leaf-less kiawe tree, "That's Dead Tree, the elders say it was the only tree here still standing from the last great wave that hit here long ago! We use that as a landmark to remind warriors that you're more likely to run into twolegs after passing it."

"Twolegs? Why would they be here?" Foxy Lady asked, suddenly paranoid that her housefolk would pick her up off the ground and take her away again at any second.

"Don't worry about it, they usually don't come this far. Normally, they just play in the ocean by the Smoothstone and pay their respects. Even when they do see us, they don't tend to bother us." Sealpaw told her.

"What's the Smoothstone?"

"Oh! The Smoothstone is a white, smooth rock that points to the sky, us ReefClan cats use it to speak to our ancestors."

Foxy Lady gave Sealpaw an odd look, "You think you can talk to dead stuff?"

The young she-cat seemed offended at Foxy Lady's lack of knowledge on the subject, some of her excitement visibly waning. "Of course we can! Every half-moon, Stripedtail and I spend the night here to speak with our ancestors through our dreams. I mean, supposedly our ancestors, StarClan warriors, can take on corporeal forms outside of dreams, but it's never happened to me or to Stripedtail. Our ancestors give us prophecies, warnings, messages to pass on to other cats in ReefClan… lots of important things." She glanced fondly in the supposed direction of the Smoothstone, "The Smoothstone is vital to keeping our connection with our ancestors alive. MistClan and PlumeClan have ancestors they speak to, too, but each have their own methods of communication."

Foxy Lady's curiosity was peaked. She peered hesitantly at Sealpaw, "Are my ancestors in there too?"

Sealpaw snorted obnoxiously, "Of course not! Unless your ancestors were of ReefClan, you cannot connect to them through the Smoothstone. Also, our ancestors don't live in the Smoothstone, silly! It's just how we reach them."

The black she-cat gave her chest a few embarrassed licks. "Oh. Well where do they go then if they aren't in the rock?"

"If cats are good and they die, they go to the Island of Stars in the sky. Up there, the ocean is always calm, there's no sharks or anything to bother you, and there's bountiful prey. If you get there, you spend your days relaxing and visiting with your friends and family, and you will be able to look down and watch the cats in ReefClan who haven't died yet." Sealpaw told her happily.

Her embarrassment waned as Sealpaw told her about the Island of Stars, compelling her to ask, "Where do the bad cats go?"

"Well, they get what they deserve and end up at the Island of Storms. It's constantly dark there, there's no prey, no plants, and it's always storming. It's a miserable rock stuck in a perpetual violent storm. Not a whole lot of cats end up there though, ReefClan doesn't produce very many cats who are Island of Storms material. We never go hungry, rarely have to fight, and twolegs usually don't give us trouble as long as we stay out of sight." Sealpaw explained to Foxy Lady before gesturing with a single tail for the former kittypet to follow her.

Foxy Lady complied, sparing Dead Tree a final glance before following Sealpaw as she led them past the landmark and closer to the ocean. "Oh, well that's good I guess." Foxy Lady finally responded, trying hard to picture the two different islands as she walked.

Sealpaw twitched her ears in agreement, "Yeah, I'm glad it's the way it is. I mean, I'm not excited to die or anything, but I am looking forward to exploring the Island of Stars one day and meeting all sorts of important cats up there; maybe I'll even get to meet Reefstar!"

Foxy Lady purred softly at Sealpaw's enthusiasm, however the initial enthusiasm for touring the territory, which had already been mild, was waning quickly. It was hard to ignore the wounds on her paws now with all the debris clinging to them after walking this far and Foxy Lady was tempted to kill Sealpaw's excitement and ask to return. Not to mention, though Foxy Lady was not afraid of Sealpaw, she was definitely intimidated by Tinystar and the rest of ReefClan. Knowing she and Sealpaw were going directly against the orders of Tinystar made her fur prickle uneasily.

She kept quiet, ignoring the longing to go back to the uncomfortable nest in ReefClan's camp, and dutifully followed Sealpaw closer to the water. Sealpaw bounded happily when the shore came into view, agilely avoiding the discarded branches of long thorns and protruding black stones in her path until she reached the cliffs that overlooked the vast ocean. Her fluffy tail was curled and raised in the air, quivering excitedly that made Sealpaw look like a little kit. Foxy Lady arrived a few breaths later beside her, following Sealpaw's gaze and watching the calm ocean waves lap at the slowly eroding cliff side.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Sealpaw murmured, not waiting for Foxy Lady to respond before speaking again, "I wish Stripedtail would let us stop and watch the sea more while we gathered herbs… he's not really the type of cat to sit and admire how gorgeous our territory is. Just think, PlumeClan and MistClan don't get views like this, especially not PlumeClan. All those cats have to look at is dark walls and nasty bugs; I don't know how they survive. MistClan at least has the highlands, and I've heard those are pretty to look at."

Foxy Lady flicked her tail in agreement, tempted to ask about the other clans, but not wanting to have the duty of remembering even more clan lore. Sealpaw had already told her enough for the day, she'd inquire about the other groups another day before she left for good.

The two sat in silence, relaxing to the lull of the ocean waves. The smell of salt overtook Foxy Lady's senses and clung to her fur, adding to the already heavy feeling of the thick air around them. Foxy Lady still longed for the crisp, thin air she was accustomed to in the city, but was steadily growing used to the thick hot air around her new home.

Through half lidded eyes, Foxy Lady looked down to where the waves met the cliffs and noticed something bobbing within the blue water. It was dark and soggy looking, she didn't know what to make of it. She glanced at Sealpaw to see if she saw it too, but the light gray and white cat was still looking towards the horizon. Foxy Lady looked at the bobbing dark object again, narrowing her eyes at it before her curiosity finally compelled her to ask.

"Sealpaw, what's that thing floating around down there by the bottom of the cliff?" Foxy Lady questioned, looking up briefly to make eye-contact with the apprentice.

Sealpaw blinked out of her relaxed trance and peered over the cliff, squinting her eyes in an attempt to get a better look. "You know, I'm not sure. I don't think it's a turtle or anything like that though, it's not really moving with purpose like one would," Sealpaw looked to Foxy Lady, "how about we go down there and get a better look?"

Despite her aching paws, Foxy Lady's curiosity won out and she meowed in agreement. Sealpaw swiftly led her further along the cliffs, looking for a good place to climb down, quickly finding one a few tail-lengths away from where they'd been sitting. Sealpaw moved with a lot more confidence than Foxy Lady did in moving down towards the water, but the black she-cat managed to climb exceptionally close to the water. Sealpaw went further than Foxy Lady did, craning her neck at an uncomfortable angle to try to get a glimpse of the bobbing object, lashing her tail in frustration when she couldn't get a good look. She looked behind her at Foxy Lady, who was still perched a little higher up on the black-stone cliff, "I'm going to swim out there to get a better look, okay?"

"Be careful." Foxy Lady responded, readjusting herself to be more comfortable while Sealpaw investigated.

"I will," Sealpaw said simply before slipping into the water without a moment's hesitation.

Sealpaw swam with grace, hardly disturbing the water as she swiftly zipped out of Foxy Lady's limited viewpoint. Foxy Lady doubted she could move like Sealpaw did in the ocean, or even swim at all. At the moment, the thought of diving into the endless pristine blue water terrified Foxy Lady. On impulse, she flexed her paws in an attempt to unsheathe her claws to better grip her place on the outcrop, panicking a little when yet again, nothing happened. Foxy Lady glanced back at the path Sealpaw had led her down, longing to turn around and climb back to safety, but knew if she failed and fell into the water, Sealpaw wouldn't be there to rescue her.

Just as Foxy Lady had begun to calm herself enough to settle comfortably once again, a panic-stricken yowl sounded from around the corner Sealpaw swam past.

"Sealpaw!" Foxy Lady called, "are you okay?"

Moments later, a panicked Sealpaw rounded the corner and swam frantically towards the black she-cat. "It's him, Foxy Lady, he's dead! We found his body!"

Foxy Lady's eyes widened. Had she really spotted a dead body? "What?"

Sealpaw quickly hauled herself out of the water, her normally plush fur weighed down by the salty water, making her look abnormally skinny. Her eyes were round as moons and her breaths were ragged when she told her, "Nightpaw! It's Nightpaw, we found Nightpaw."

X-X-X

 **Hey guys! Sorry that this is my first A/N, I've just been kind of lazy about it haha! I just wanted to thank everyone who reads this story for giving it and myself a shot and to say that I'm very open to constructive criticism and would greatly appreciate feedback :) I don't have a whole lot to say in this A/N so I'm just going to end it here. Have a great day everyone!**

 **~Blondie**

 **Very Delayed Review Response:**

 **0Zz0Zz0: Eek sorry for getting back to you several chapters late! Haha thanks I was trying to think of some names that could go along with Foxy Lady's name so I just went with the classics! And even though you probably know this already, Foxy Lady's twolegs spayed and declawed her.**


	5. Chapter 4: The Broken One

Chapter 4: The Broken One

ReefClan huddled around the still-wet body of Nightpaw, murmuring softly to one another in the steadily dawning night. Tinystar and Dolphintooth were among the closest to the fallen apprentice, speaking hushed and serious words about how to handle the situation. Stripedtail and Sealpaw weren't much further away from the clan's leadership, both wearing solemn expressions as they awaited Tinystar's orders. Then, a circle of the oldest cats had formed around Nightpaw and the other four cats, with the youngest cats skirting the edges of the crowd. Foxy Lady found herself being the furthest from even the young and intrusive apprentices trying to catch a glimpse of the downed enemy cat.

They had been like this for a while, and though Foxy Lady was uncomfortable in her spot distant yet close to the ReefClan cats, she was grateful for the focus on the dead apprentice. When she and Sealpaw had returned to camp, Tinystar was the first to notice them and saw Foxy Lady first. Had Sealpaw not been carrying Nightpaw's limp form, she was certain Tinystar would've hurt her so any distraction for the short-tempered tom was most welcomed.

Foxy Lady's head snapped up in attention when the cats around her quieted and Tinystar rose to his paws. The stocky tom, despite not being propped up on any stone or tree, stood tall over his clan, his voice steady as he spoke. "All cats who are old enough to catch their own prey gather before me for a clan meeting!"

She watched to see if any cat left the crowd. A golden tabby she-cat with three kits who looked only a few moons younger than Foxy Lady filed promptly away from the group's outskirts. The kits yowled and complained at being ordered away, but were quickly silenced by their mother's stony expression and assertive voice as she led them to a fallen kiawe near the back of camp.

Once the young clan members were put away, Tinystar continued. "An insolent apprentice and the kittypet broke my command to stay in camp and consequently found the MistClan apprentice along the cliffs in the sea."

Foxy Lady couldn't see Sealpaw's reaction very well anymore, but she about wanted to sink into the ground at his words. She knew it was a terrible idea leave camp with Sealpaw before she left, but now, with foreign eyes glancing warily at her slumped form, she was tempted to run out and never come back.

"Once again, the ocean has favored the righteous and expelled the weak and unworthy. This is a sign from the Island of Stars, ReefClan. We will be victorious against the wicked MistClan, for it is the will of the Island of Stars. We have long since received the creed of our ancestors through the sea, and now that the ocean has spoken, we shall act accordingly. To show MistClan the ocean's judgement of protection and goodwill towards ReefClan, the apprentice's body will be returned to MistClan." Tinystar yowled, looking proudly at his clan as they returned his enthusiasm.

Foxy Lady, however, felt shaken by Tinystar's speech. Though some of the things Sealpaw had told her earlier in the day, the things Tinystar just said were downright terrifying! In the city, the idea of her ancestors influencing reality never once crossed her mind, but it seemed like it was all these cats were able to talk about.

"First, however," Tinystar's gaze shifted to a very uncomfortable Foxy Lady, "because the kittypet found the body with Sealpaw, it seems fitting that she should go with the journeyers to MistClan territories. I will not, however, have a cat not under my leadership go to hostile territory to potentially ruin our already fringed clan relations."

Foxy Lady's eyes widened even further, if it were possible, picking up on what Tinystar was going to do next. She should've stayed with her housefolk.

"Kittypet, come forward." Tinystar demanded, gesturing with an authoritative swish of his tail for his clanmates to let the black she-cat through.

Foxy Lady froze up when the ReefClan cats moved to make a thin path to Tinystar through the crowd. Tinystar looked at her expectantly, his patience clearly running thin at her inability to follow orders swiftly enough. When he looked like he was going to repeat his demand, Foxy Lady was able to find it in herself to move forward towards the tom who had yet to look even neutrally at her.

When the former kittypet was a tail-length away from him, Tinystar spoke. "Kittypet, from this moment on, you will accept me as your leader and ReefClan as your clan. In turn for your allegiance, you will be known as Brokenpaw, in recognition of your mutilations and lack of completion. Longshadow, you have persisted that this cat will be a good addition to ReefClan, so you will be mentor to Brokenpaw. Teach her everything she needs to know to prove me wrong."

Brokenpaw was surprised to hear yowls of outrage come from the rest of ReefClan, with Longshadow being among the loudest of protesters.

"That's a cruel name!" An old reddish tom snapped, eyes blazing.

"Her deformities aren't her fault!" A young-looking light gray tom protested.

"The poor thing!" Another cat, a splotchy calico, yowled sympathetically.

"Silence!" Tinystar hissed, quieting his angry clan. "I stand by my name choice for ReefClan's newest apprentice. I was named after my tail, just as Brokenpaw is named after her physical shortcomings. It is a fair and just name that should not hinder her performance in any way or form."

ReefClan still hissed and lightly snarled amongst one another, showing their distaste for Brokenpaw's new name. Longshadow, though displeased with Brokenpaw's name, padded up to her new apprentice and lightly touched noses with her, making the black she-cat flinch in surprise. "We will prove him wrong," Longshadow said firmly, determination burning within her dark amber eyes.

When Longshadow moved back to the crowd, she beckoned for Brokenpaw to follow her, which she gladly did, eager to get out of Tinystar's direct line of sight. Tinystar went on, "Brokenpaw will be going with a patrol to return the apprentice's body to MistClan. She will be treated as every other apprentice in this clan and expected to pull her weight in the patrol, should she fail to do so, I will expel her from this clan and strip her of her name. This is my condition for initiating the incomplete kittypet. The patrol who will test Brokenpaw and return the MistClan cat will be led by Canestalk. The rest of the patrol will consist of Coconutpaw, Longshadow, Coldpool, Sharkpaw, Risingsun, and Darkwhisker. The patrol will leave at dawn."

XxXxX

"It will be a day's journey to the MistClan border and another day's journey back. I would have preferred it if Tinystar did not have you go, Brokenpaw, but you are going, so just try to do as minimal damage to your poultices as possible." Stripedtail instructed, sticking another poultice on her wounded paws.

Brokenpaw twitched her ears in acknowledgement, glancing towards Sealpaw, who was hyper-focused on sorting the already relatively well sorted herbs. Since bringing Nightpaw back, Sealpaw and Brokenpaw hadn't spoken or made eye-contact. It was strange for Brokenpaw for the normally chatty she-cat to be dead-silent. She presumed Sealpaw didn't want to make Stripedtail any more upset with her than he had to be already, but it still felt odd.

She felt the green eyes of Coralpaw boring into her back and shifted with discomfort. Brokenpaw could sense she wanted to say something to her, but Stripedtail spoke again. "Do your best to avoid physical conflict with MistClan, Brokenpaw. Clearly, the members of the Island of Stars are unhappy with this war Stagstar seems so eager to initiate. The ocean has already killed one and harmed another in warning. You won't be in control, but I know Canestalk is a level-headed tom and will maintain order. The MistClan cats, however, are far less honorable than he is and will most definitely try to bait you. No matter what they say, Brokenpaw, do not speak to them, do not make physical contact with them, do not even make eye-contact with a single MistClan cat. Give them no reason to be any angrier at ReefClan, do you understand?" Stripedtail demanded, his voice steely and unyielding.

"Brokenpaw will be doing nothing of that sort, do not waste your concerns, Stripedtail." Longshadow's voice filled the den area, taking a seat in the reddish dirt.

Stripedtail dipped his head in greeting, "Longshadow, I am glad to hear that. And I know Tinystar told you to treat her as though she were Coconutpaw or Coralpaw, but please keep in mind that her paws are still healing. Do not let my herbs have gone to waste."

"Understood," Longshadow said coolly, looking to Brokenpaw. "Brokenpaw, Canestalk is waiting on us, let's go."

Brokenpaw stood up in response, glancing up at Stripedtail. "Thank you, Stripedtail," she shifted her gaze to the ever-focused Sealpaw, "and I'll see you in two days, Sealpaw." Sealpaw didn't verbally respond, but Brokenpaw noted the subtle quiver of her tail and took that to be a proper goodbye.

The large patrol of cats had gathered near the camp's main entrance. Nightpaw's body, which had been treated with ginger to hold off the strong odor of decay, was there as well, cast off to the side. Brokenpaw hoped she wouldn't be forced to drag the body, ginger-treated or not.

Longshadow padded past Brokenpaw and arrived to an impatient looking black and white tom. She flicked her tail at him, "we apologize for the wait, Canestalk, we are ready now."

"Good, let's go then. This body is going to get more and more disgusting as the day wears on." Risingsun muttered, lashing her tail in irritation.

Canestalk gave Risingsun a condescending look and twitched his ears in acknowledgement to Longshadow. "It will be fine, Risingsun." He nodded at the black tom behind him next, "Coldpool offered to carry the body for the first section of the journey. When it begins to strain him, Darkwhisker will take over. We will decide who carries Nightpaw after Darkwhisker when the time comes. You may never even have to touch the body, Risingsun."

"I'm not touching that." Risingsun hissed, "Sharkpaw won't either. I won't have my apprentice dragging that filth around."

The younger cat nearest to Risingsun, a black tom with fascinating light gray tabby markings, held his head up at her words. Coldpool, the solid black warrior, glared at Risingsun. "Why did Tinystar see it fit for you to be a mentor again, Risingsun?"

Risingsun's ears flattened and her lips drew back into an intimidating snarl, "know your place, Coldpool."

Coldpool growled lowly, but withdrew himself without another word, his tail lashing in frustration with the golden she-cat.

Canestalk hissed at the two cats. "Enough!" The two warriors flinched at the older warrior's tone, lowering their heads in respect and flattening their ears. "You are both warriors of ReefClan about to take a dead enemy into enemy territory. Stop squabbling like kits and start acting like warriors!"

Canestalk whipped his head towards Risingsun, who seemed reluctant to continue cowering away from him. "Risingsun! Yes, by clan law you have authority over Coldpool during patrols when you are the senior-most warrior in a patrol, however, I am the senior warrior in this patrol. You don't have authority over Coldpool and cannot order him around, understand?"

Risingsun's eyes flashed with irritation. "Yes, Canestalk."

Canestalk turned his attention to Coldpool, who fought fruitlessly to fight a smirk at Risingsun's reprimand. "Coldpool!" He began sharply, causing Coldpool's satisfaction to immediately fade and his pelt to prickle with unease. "While Risingsun was acting like an ungrateful kit and being a poor example for Sharkpaw, you are a young warrior. Do not challenge warriors who are more senior to you, you should know this by now."

"Yes, Canestalk. Sorry, Canestalk." Coldpool murmured, keeping his gaze lowered in respect.

Canestalk shook out his pelt and blinked with a huff. "Alright then, Coldpool, pick up the body. We shouldn't be wasting any more time."

He dipped his head at the senior warrior, suppressing a gag when he picked up the limp, still-soggy remains of the MistClan apprentice. Risingsun had a triumphant gleam in her eyes at the sight of the young warrior, but didn't say a thing, merely flicking her tail in satisfaction before muttering a snide remark to Sharkpaw.

Brokenpaw drew in a deep sigh, absentmindedly flexing her claw-less paws at the dirt. Her belly twisted and she couldn't decide if it was from that nasty blue fish Stripedtail made her eat before putting poultices on her paws again or from nerves. Maybe it was a little bit of both.

Though Longshadow was a little intimidating to Brokenpaw, she was grateful at least one cat who sort of liked her was going along. She would have preferred Sealpaw's company, but Longshadow was nice enough, she supposed. At least she knew Longshadow would stick up for her if any cats on the patrol tried to mess with her.

XxXxX

It was just like when Brokenpaw had arrived on ReefClan territory: hot. The only shade around was provided by the thorny kiawe trees, and even that was sparse. However, this time, the black rocks they walked upon were smoother and didn't cut into her paw pads like the sharp rocks she'd walked on a few days prior.

The hot trek drained the cats of their strength almost instantly upon leaving the kiawe forest, and the stinking body had been passed around from Coldpool to Darkwhisker to Canestalk, to Coconutpaw, and then Longshadow shouldered the burden of dragging him across the burning landscape. It was clear ReefClan wasn't very used to full on sun, seeing as they lived in near-constant shade along the rocky shoreline of the sea with a consistent breeze. There was still a breeze to be felt, but it just made things worse. The winds were stronger out in the open, sometimes even threatening to lift Brokenpaw off the ground, and kicked up debris that embedded themselves into the eyes of the traveling cats. It made Brokenpaw wonder why her housefolk wanted to leave the nice, cool city with pretty trees and bushes for this scorching, barren wasteland.

Brokenpaw wasn't ashamed to say she had quickly fallen to the back of the group, trailing miserably behind the more experienced wild cats. Coconutpaw, a fluffy, thick-furred light brown and white she-cat, wasn't faring much better than her, though, moving just a tail length ahead. The other apprentice had her head bowed, tail dragging behind herself, and her jaws parted into a fruitless pant. She by far had the most fur and Brokenpaw couldn't imagine her misery, especially after carrying Nightpaw.

Brokenpaw observed Longshadow, who was trailing just behind Canestalk, who kept the lead. She was clearly exhausted, but her form maintained an air of determination that pushed her to keep ahead of most every cat even with Nightpaw's body weighing her down. It made her wonder if she'd ever be as strong and driven as her new mentor. Growing up, Brokenpaw had always been a placid yet affectionate cat towards her housefolk, but now that she was wild, the black she-cat knew her personality needed to change in order to survive. She could still be quiet and placid however, she would need to develop some of Longshadow's determination and even Risingsun's snarky attitude could help. Each of the ReefClan cats had attributes Brokenpaw needed to learn to live in the wild properly, even if she ended up running away before officially becoming one of them.

Though Brokenpaw admired the ReefClan cats to an extent, she still feared them and their ideologies. They were insane and any time the Island of Stars was brought up, Brokenpaw wanted to run away and never see Tinystar and his cats ever again.

Brokenpaw's fearful thoughts were interrupted by Longshadow's sudden gasp of exhaustion followed by the sound of Nightpaw flopping onto the searing hot rocks.

"Alright," Longshadow panted, "I can't carry him anymore, I need a break."

Canestalk gave a nod and looked directly at Brokenpaw. "Alright, Brokenpaw, prove your worth. Carry the MistClanner."

Brokenpaw, exhausted and weak from the heat, wanted to flop over and die at the thought of carrying the extra, stinking weight. Touching the dead apprentice would forever haunt her, but if Sealpaw could do it, then so could she. The black she-cat dutifully trudged towards her mentor, suppressing a gag when she gripped his scruff firmly between her teeth. Nightpaw's body was roughly the size of her own and, for a decaying body, was heavier than she'd anticipated. She tried her best to lift her head, straining her neck in her fruitless attempt before spitting the body out of her mouth. Brokenpaw looked hopelessly at Canestalk and protested, "I can't do it, he's too heavy, he might even be bigger than me!"

Canestalk's eyes flashed at the perceived disobedience from the latest ReefClan member and he hissed. "Tinystar ordered me to test you, kittypet, to see if you are really worthy of being a member of the greatest clan on the island and, so far, you are failing miserably. You are lagging behind and cannot bear the burden of carrying a body more than a single step. ReefClan is a clan for the strong, Brokenpaw, if you cannot prove your strength to me, then I doubt Tinystar will allow you to stay, no matter how hard Longshadow will fight to keep you. You must contribute something to this clan, do you understand?"

Eyes wide and ears flat, Brokenpaw cowered at the older tom's harsh voice, unsure of what to do next. She was telling the truth, she was dehydrated, tired, and weak. There was no way she would be able to carry Nightpaw, she even had some doubts about surviving this journey.

She breathed a sigh of relief when a furious Longshadow snarled and stalked towards Canestalk, standing between Brokenpaw and the snappy senior warrior. "She is young, Canestalk! Brokenpaw can't be much older than seven moons! She is by far the youngest in this patrol and has more or less no experience traveling! Hardly any kittypets do, take it from me! She is proving her strength and determination by keeping pace with the rest of the patrol even with cut up paw-pads. I don't care if you're the senior warrior, Canestalk, you will not snarl at my apprentice like that for lacking age and the experience of an older apprentice!" Longshadow spat, her lips peeled back in a fierce snarl.

The great black warrior hissed at Longshadow, lashing his tail angrily behind him. "I am in charge of this patrol by Tinystar's orders, Longshadow. That makes me the leader of this patrol and all cats in it, do you understand? What I say is code while we're out here, this has been ingrained into you since the day you arrived here and you would do well to keep it in mind. Brokenpaw is not performing to Tinystar's expectations and I am merely making her aware of this, alright?"

Longshadow hissed again, her pelt bristling in defiance. "She is basically a kit, Canestalk. It would do well to keep that in mind." She mocked, eyes narrowed at the other warrior.

Brokenpaw heard a barely muffled purr from behind her. "Yeah, just a kittypet-kit." The voice of Sharkpaw remarked haughtily, the fascinating-looking apprentice staring gleefully at the conflict. It was only then that Brokenpaw realized most of the patrol had formed a thin circle around herself, Longshadow, and Canestalk to watch the battle of wills unfold.

Brokenpaw flattened her ears at the snide comment. It wasn't her fault she wasn't born in the same place as he was. His comment made her wonder how many other clan cats shared his sentiment; though they'd protested Tinystar when he named her Brokenpaw, most of them still seemed to resent her presence around camp.

Her eyes widened and her body further pressed itself into the burning hot stone when wicked snarls left Longshadow and Canestalk. The two had leapt into battle against each other, claws unsheathed and sharp teeth bared, clashing fiercely. Canestalk easily slammed Longshadow against the ground, the older, larger warrior having more power and experience than the tortoiseshell warrior. Longshadow didn't let Canestalk's size and strength keep her down for long, twisting violently in his grip and ferociously snapping her sharp, white fangs dangerously near his throat. Canestalk yowled in surprise when Longshadow managed to tear through a layer of skin on his neck, giving the younger warrior the opportunity to slip out of his claws. She whirled around and bit viciously into his muzzle, her teeth barely missing one of his eyes, earning another screech from Canestalk.

Brokenpaw hoped dearly that would be the end of the battle, but it wasn't. Canestalk shoved her mentor off of him with a single leg's effort, making the tortoiseshell ungracefully stagger a few paw-steps away from him. He didn't allow her to regain her senses, however, and leapt at her again, his front paws expertly landing squarely on her shoulder and hip so that she landed flat on the searing hot rocks.

Crimson trickled down Canestalk's face, running a small stream down the contours of his muzzle as he clamped his jaws firmly around Longshadow's throat. Brokenpaw panicked when he did that and looked around wildly at the other cats on patrol. None made any move to intervene, instead keeping a fair distance from the fight as they waited it out. Brokenpaw wasn't sure of the rules ReefClan followed, but she expected that clanmates wouldn't be allowed to fight amongst one another like that.

Longshadow snarled and thrashed around in his grip, her claws occasionally managing to tag a piece of Canestalk's pelt. Whenever her claws made contact, Canestalk would growl and clamp down harder in warning. Brokenpaw's fear diminished as the fight wore on. It became obvious that Canestalk wasn't trying to kill Longshadow, he was merely trying to subdue the unruly warrior. Brokenpaw couldn't help but feel guilty though, seeing as the fight between them had only happened because of her inability to carry Nightpaw; she would have to make it up to Longshadow somehow.

She breathed a sigh of relief when Longshadow conceded, a long and irritated huff leaving her nose as she allowed her body to go limp. Canestalk held on a moment longer before releasing his grip on her throat and backing up. When Longshadow got up, she wore a look of ire and shook out her coat ruefully. She seemed okay, a few streaks of blood soaked the surrounding fur from where the sharp, hot rocks had cut into her during the fall, but it didn't seem like Canestalk did hardly any damage to her.

Canestalk didn't say a word, simply swishing his tail before going and picking Nightpaw's body up and continuing forward. Longshadow followed, ears flat and tail nearly dragging against the ground. Brokenpaw felt someone nudge her flank and she glanced to her side to see a smug Sharkpaw. The black tabby couldn't look more pleased, "looks like kittypet blood is a little more diluted than I thought. Of course, you probably already knew that, with you being a broken one."

He passed forward, tail raised in triumph as he went to greet Coconutpaw and Risingsun up further, leaving Brokenpaw standing still in shock. A pang of sorrow and anxiety hit her. If her mentor couldn't fight Canestalk off properly, how was she supposed to survive out here?

 **Hi guys! Sorry about how late this is... I was in Hawaii again at the end of July and I meant to update while I was there, but that didn't happen! I'm also moving back to college tomorrow so updates might be slow-going (hopefully no longer than this wait, but I'm not making any promises). I also apologize about this chapter, I'm very unhappy with it and towards the end I was basically looking for some way to end it at least somewhat competently... hopefully next chapter will be of a better quality! Oh and I've been trying to convey that the island clans are actually fairly distinct from our five clans we read about in the books in morals and customs. I hope I'm at least sort of doing that!**

 **See you all next time!**

 **~Blondie**


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